Applying the 30-15IFT in international hockey: improving the scoring and practical applications

This is an article about data. It takes a test familiar to many strength and
conditioning (S&C) practitioners (the 30–15IFT) and demonstrates the processes
that the S&C coaches at Hockey Wales undertook to extract greater meaning and
insight from the data generated by the scoring system. Beginning with a largely
descriptive element (the layout, procedure and scoring of the test, as well as its
stated applications), the article then focuses tightly on the scoring system of the
test and how it might be ameliorated. Subjecting the scoring system to Realistic
Evaluation6 and reviewing it through the lens of a model of argumentation reveal
why amelioration of the scoring system might be both beneficial and necessary.
The article then considers how we went about this process, from practically
setting the boundaries of speed on the test to scaling the scores and, ultimately,
providing scores in percentages. The final element of the article considers the
practical applications of the process. These applications we found to be both
numerous and insightful.
Since its inception, the 30–15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30–15IFT) has become a
staple of S&C programmes not just in field hockey, but across numerous sports
including handball, rugby league and association football.8 Used extensively
as a fitness assessment tool, as well as a guide to providing individualised,
targeted metabolic conditioning, the 30–15IFT represents a versatile component
of the strength and conditioning coach’s armoury. Rather than focus on these
applications, however, this article tightly focuses on one key area of the 30–15IFT:
the scoring system. Following a summary of the test protocol, scoring system and
the stated applications of the 30–15IFT, the primary aim is to demonstrate how the
discriminative capacity of the scores might be ameliorated. By doing so, the article
aims to demonstrate the test’s key benefits: that of gaining a truer indication of
an athlete’s metabolic fitness qualities and, linked to this, the application of this
enhanced insight to goal setting and, potentially, squad selection.

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